Shower Quilt and Late Winter Projects



Brett and Kerri's son Cade is getting married in May and we had the bridal shower last weekend at our home. Way back, when mom was doing showers for her nieces and nephews she couldn't bring herself to play shower games so she decided to make tied quilts for the bride and groom. The quilt was then the shower gift from the aunts. I continued the tradition with my own nieces and nephews. Luckily, since I have over 50 nieces and nephews we are coming to the end of the shower quilts.



Cade and Taylor with the Aunts (we miss you Jayne and Stacey)

I  made a Valentine's table runner and table topper in February and am finally getting around to document them. I like how the string pieced hearts turned out against the diagonally quilted white background.

 John made me the beautiful bench the quilts are on for Valentine's day. It made from a 200 year old maple tree that was cut down in North Ogden. The man John got the wood from speculated that Native Americans may have watered and tended to the tree before the settlers came into the valley. It's a nice idea, but we really have no idea how the tree lived for so long.

Have I Done Any Good?

I have been teaching/heading a quilting group in our ward for the last ten years or so. Our numbers were few last night, spring brings sports, school projects, yard work and other activities that justifiably take precedence over quilting. But one of my dear friends who has been with us from the beginning was there.

She brought a darling little Disappearing Nine patch quilt she made for her grandson to show us. I showed the sisters before Christmas how to made a nine patch quilt quilt block, then cut it up and re sew it back together to make a more complicated finished block and quilt without having to measure cut and sew tiny little fabric patches.

She had also made a little shirt out of one of the fabrics in the quilt for her grandson as well and a cute dress and pinafore for his sister that were well made and adorable.

She told me she told her husband how pleased she was that her stitching skills had improved from where they were before our quilt group started. "I went to bed early Sunday night so I could get up early Monday morning and finish my quilt. I was so excited!" She told me. "You have made me so happy with with your teachings and quilting, thank you."

It is not often that what I do comes back to me so generously expressed. It is nice to know that in a small way I have made a difference in someone's life. And a simple thank you is always welcome.

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

We just spent a joyous whirlwind 36 hour trip to Cortez for Ezra's baptism.



At least I got one serious picture.



I wanted to get a nice family picture, but this is what I ended up with.

 By the time we were done I was laughing so hard I couldn't get mad.



Travis (the character in front)  is the son I always threatened Chris with. Just like him.

I then wanted a sibling picture with Chris, Annie and Thomas. (We missed Matt and family a lot!)

And this is what I ended up with.

Right after the last picture was taken, Chris wrestled Thomas to the floor.

Surely I thought, I could at least get a good picture of Grandma and Grandpa with Ezra

to prove we were actually there.



I had to hug Ezra extra hard to keep him from escaping.

Ezra and Travis's birthdays are 1 week apart. Megan told them that they could open presents

 midway between their birthdays when their cousins, aunts and uncles and both sets of

grandparents were there for the weekend.

We gave the boys river hats to wear when they went out in their new kayak and in Mexico. I also made Travis a super hero cape. Poor Maggie felt a little left out.

I can't imagine a better way to celebrate Ezra's baptism that to worship, laugh and be together as a family.

My joy was full.

In the Deep Dark Winter

Snow on snow. . .

It started snowing when we were in St Louis over Christmas and we haven't seen dirt since. We have 2 1/2 feet of snow in the back yard. It has been a cold and snowy 2 months. Poor Joey has a snow path that is up to her shoulders when she needs to go outside.

I love a good snowy winter: waking up to a new, undisturbed covering of white, watching snow fall on the hillside behind the house, reading by the burning fire, making soup and bread for dinner, and snuggling with John at night.



. . on snow on snow



But this winter has has been long even for us die hard winter fans. Temperatures have plummeted below zero with inversions that have held kept fog, smog, and cold air in the valley and warm air above it in the mountains. We even had an ice storm!  Who knew it could rain in the warm air above the inversion, then freeze when it hit the frigid air below and turn into ice on the roads sidewalks and driveways? People were slipping and sliding everywhere. Annie's car ended up sideways at the foot of her driveway and she had to practically crawl up it to get into her garage.

But it is still beautiful. The view of the creek and my neighbors bridge from my living room after one storm was amazing!  It almost makes the minor disasters of life seem insignificant (headaches, replacing the hot water heater, refrigerator and battery and oil pan on the Honda within two weeks of each other, and more headaches.)



. . .snow on snow. . .

And if I get too tired of winter I read my seed catalogues and order seeds. Or I enjoy the hyacinths than my sister Ann forced for me. They really do feed the soul.



. . .snow on snow on snow.



Just Leave Us in the West Desert

It seems like everyone I talk to who is my age is dealing with aging parents. When a group of us got together we used to talk about our kids, our home improvement projects, our travels, our sex lives, pretty random stuff. Now all we talk about is our aging bodies and our aging parents.

One friend said and I quote: "I have seen more of a naked 90 year old man's private parts that I ever wanted to see." Another told me she changed her toddler's diaper and then turned around and cleaned up her father with tears streaming down her face. When a friend of my mother's was asked what she did when  her aging husband yelled and swore at her( he would have never done this when he was younger), she said she just yelled right back. Just this morning my visiting teacher said that her parents had to move into an assisted living center when her father fell and lay there for 6 hours before someone came. Her  mother wasn't cognizant enough to call 911 or even bring him the phone. 

My dad, who is 82, and John's mom, who will be 88 next month , are central to my part of these conversations. My dad, who was a wonderful, energetic, intelligent, man has melanoma and dementia, probably brought on by a head injury from a bicycle accident 20 years ago. John's mom is a proud, stoic, independent southern woman, whom age is catching up with.

I have seen my mother in law in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of both arms and an oxygen mask over her face tell me that she is "just fine" when  I asked her how she was doing. She was trying to convince us that she could go to her home when she left the hospital instead of to her daughter Rachel's. My dad, when asked last week by the hospice evaluators, didn't know his name and who mom was. Last week when I was fixing him some breakfast he asked me how long I have been helping him. I think he thought I was one of his caregivers, but I wouldn't dream of asking him if he knows who I am. I can't do that to him.  . . or me. I just walk in kiss him on the cheek and say "Hi dad, it's Jeanne, your favorite daughter!" He does laugh though and seems to know it is a joke.

 

Taken in 1988 at Carlos and LaDawn wedding.



I have learned that old age treats every one differently. Some lucky few keep on going into their late 80s hardly slowing down at all. Others like John's dad die drop dead of a heart attack in their early 70s. At times I wonder if they are the fortunate ones. They and their family don't have to go through the slow decline and  endure (and witness) the indignities of old age.

  I was scanning some old negatives into my computer the other day and came across an old picture of John and me with his parents. It was such a pleasant surprise to see an unexpected picture of Dad Lingard. He has been gone 15 years now and it was like seeing an old friend. I actually touched the computer screen in greeting. I feel the same way when I see pictures of my dad come up on my computer screen saver. There are pictures of him when we were growing up, of him skiing, or sailing or fishing, and of him with my children. He has intelligence, light and joy in his eyes and I reach out my hand to the screen in greeting, missing him . 

 



Dad and Annie, camping at Strawberry Reservoir



   As John and I watch our parents age, we, like generations before us, bemoan, "I don't want to get old." He is convinced he will die of an early heart attack like his father. "If I don't" he says, "just leave me out in the west desert and drive away." And I say "just leave us both."

Over the River and Through the Woods

This year Grandma and Grandpa went over the river (the Missouri) and through the woods (Rocky Mountains) to visit their grand children instead of them visiting us.

What a view outside the cabin.  Ezra is sick and wrapped in Maggie's
new quilt

Chris and Meg were going to her family cabin 10 miles east of Heber for Christmas and invited us, Annie and Thomas and Monica to come up the weekend before Christmas. What a gift it was to get our Christmas shopping, wrapping, candy making and cleaning done 4 days before Christmas and relax in the mountains for a couple of days.

. . .so Maggie had to as well.

Travis making a funny face. . . 

Although I am not sure being with 3 children under the age of 7, 3 days before Christmas could be called relaxing, even if they were out numbered 2 to 1 by adults. And they all had to be with Grandpa. I don't know if it was his iphone, his beard, or  just because he was grandpa        


It was fun to spend time with Ezra, Travis and Maggie. They change every time we see them. Maggie (3) is potty trained, but she won't wear little girl panties.  She insisted on wearing Travis's and it drove him crazy, so Meg bought Maggie her own boy underwear. She does every thing her brothers do from climbing on Ezra top bunk, over the safety rail, to riding a bike.

Travis wouldn't leave Thomas alone, so Thomas started
tickling every time he said something. It was payback time!

Travis is a little instigator, just like his father. He and Ezra had coughs that would not go away. I told them that my daddy, their Grandpa Great, who was a doctor, had a great idea for cough medicine. Every time we would cough he would slug us and sure enough our coughs went away because we didn't want to get hit. (It really wasn't as bad as it sounds, we laughed and ran as we tried to get away from the "cough medicine".) Of course Travis took it to heart and started slugging Ezra every time he coughed. I had to tell him that only Grandpa Great could slug someone who coughed because he was a doctor.

Annie in her vest instead of her quilt.

Ezra will be 8 in March and has already mastered the art of eye rolling. Poor thing, he started running a temperature on Saturday and really didn't feel very well the rest of the weekend. Annie  brought up her Christmas quilt so she would have our own comfy cozy to snuggle in. As soon as Ezra started feeling sick he wrapped himself up in Annie's quilt and she had to pry it off his back when we left. It is a good thing I gave Maggie her quilt so he could use it when we left.                                              
                                                                           
We played Christmas bingo, pinochle, and Monica had us all playing what we called Spit, though I can't remember what she called it.

On the road to Heber, that's Mt Timp in the background

Cousins, Annie, Hannah and Anikka.

John has now joined the ranks of Neville men and
their in-laws who have beards.

We got home and had Christmas Eve at our house with Annie, Mom, Dad, Shelley, Ann, Thomas and Monica and then went to Shelley and Ann's home for Christmas Day

Loaded with kids instead of shelves.

We left the next day loaded with the two tiered chest that John made for Matt and Erin's Christmas and birthday presents and survival supplies (in case we were stranded on 1-80) to visit Matt, Erin, Ian, Lily and Molly in St Louis.

It was the best trip ever because we just stayed home and visited (only leaving once to see "The Hobbit")  because Molly had a low grade fever and cough. Ian, Lily and Molly are growing as fast as their cousins. Grandpa still seems to be the grandkid magnet, every time he sat down the kids were glued to his side.


  


Ian is 6 years old. He favorite thing to do is play with his legos and he can probably tell you about every single one he owns. I can still hear him say, "Can I tell you just one more thing?" before he had to go to bed. He has his daddy's curly hair and doesn't think he is too big to give me a good night kiss. This picture says it all.

I think Lily was under-whelmed with her quilt
until she got used to the idea that she didn't get a toy and
then she slept with it every night.

Lily is a cutie with her own sense of style. She has a temper that she is working on controlling. We were playing a game in the living room and something happened that Lily didn't like. Instead of having a hissy fit, she held everything by closing her mouth, holding her breath and turning an alarming shade of red. As we all looked at her in amazement, she let out her breath and started laughing with us. It was a red (literally) letter day.

Helping daddy and Grandpa paint.

 And oh little Molly! There is nothing better than a snuggly 2 year old who runs to you and wants to be picked up. All that face timing paid off. She actually is quite rough and tumble as the youngest are sometimes want to be. (See Maggie.)

We came home surprisingly rested for spending 10 days driving, visiting, driving and visiting again. It was even worth the cough I seemed to bring home with me. Not a bad price to pay.

Christmas Projects

I gathered all the projects I made this Christmas together to take a picture before I wrapped them and my first thought was "Is that all?" It seemed like such a little pile when I thought of all the work I did. But it wasn't such a small stack: 4 quilts, 2 sets of pillow cases, 4 hand quilted ornaments, a cape and 6 little girl bracelets.





Jayne came up the first week of December to visit mom and dad and await the birth of Leslie and Clay's baby boy. Lucky me, little Sam was a week late and Jayne and I got to play. It was like an early Christmas present. She was making dress up things for Chase and Caitlin's girls and asked if I wanted to make anything for my grand daughters. Since she had all the supplies and I am not stupid, I said yes. So I made a cape for Maggie and bracelets for Maggie, Lily and Molly.

                 
Of course I made quilts for Christmas presents. Maggie got her big bed quilt, a wonky log cabin made with wonderful pink, aqua, orange and green fabrics. I titled it "Duck, Duck, Maggie" because of the ducks (my sister Ann said they were avocets because of their up turned beaks) printed on the fabric. I played around with the back and pieced in leftover blocks to jazz it up a bit. It is one of my favorite quilts so far.

When I was in St. Louis last summer Lily asked me if I would make her a "cool" quilt. She had worn out the tied quilt I made Matt when he was 15, but it was a light weight quilt that she could use in the summer and still keep cool and didn't want to give it up. I used a poly down batting that I quite liked because it was so much lighter than the cotton batts I usually use.  I named the quilt "Lily in My Garden." It is made with fabrics I had on hand, thanks to the infusion of mom's fabrics to my stash. It is a bittersweet thing for mom to see me use her fabrics, she is glad they are being used, but hates to seem them used at the same time. The blue in the quilt reminds me of mom, she loves blue fabric with tiny white flowers.

I had  a Madame Alexander Huggable doll to give to Molly but the poor dolly seemed so cold in her hard blue box that I just had to make a quilt for her. Her dress was yellow with red cherry accents so I made a baby doll quilt to match. It was so much fun to make a little 18 x 24 inch quilt. I finished it in 24 hours, all but hand sewing the binding. Again I used fabrics from mine and mom's stash. How could I not name it "Molly's Dolly Quilt?"

I didn't realize how well planned the quilt was until it was finished and
spread out.  It was hard to appreciate the overall design when
 I was looking at each individual strip as I was mending and quilting.

A couple of years ago I was with mom at an antique show when she bought a vintage log cabin quilt top. It was pretty hammered and I thought she was crazy to buy it. This fall she pulled it out and asked me what I thought we could do with it. The seams had pulled out in places and on closer inspection it looked like there were nylon fabrics (shudder) in it as well as cotton and some seersucker and other really ugly fabrics. I told her I didn't know if it was worth spending a lot of time on, but she left it with me and I added it to my unfinished project shelf. She mentioned the quilt a few times in the next few weeks, but I ignored her. I was trying to think of something to give her for Christmas, but she really doesn't need anymore stuff. So I took another look at her log cabin quilt. I decided I probably could mend the seams and quilt it for Christmas. I used the poly down batting I used for Lily's quilt to make it light weight and easy for mom to pull over her legs and fabric from her stash for the back. The original quilt size was 84 x 72 inches, way to big for a throw quilt, so I unpicked a row and pieced it into the back.  In her stash was a piece of vintage red fabric with large white flowers that I used for the binding. All in all it turned out great, despite a few tucks and pleats due to the original quilter's quirks and my own.

I know that in the future I will not be able to do Christmas projects like I can do now. I see the sadness and frustration in my mother and mother-in-law eyes as they wish they could work and create as they used to. But for now I will plan and sew and enjoy the process each project takes. And then I will pass my stash on to their grandchildren when I cannot.